I've been cruising with Royal Caribbean for 20 years, but a recent change in the loyalty status matching opened my eyes to trying a luxury cruise.
Royal Caribbean Group owns three primary cruise lines: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea. Thanks to an improvement with status matching across all the lines, I thought this was the perfect time to try Silversea.
The idea of going on a small ship that can get into places the bigger Royal Caribbean ships cannot, along with an elevated touch through with cuisine and service, sounded like something worth trying.
Thanks to an invitation from Silversea, I was able to sail on Silver Dawn on a 7-night cruise to the Norwegian Fjords. In the interest of full disclosure, Silversea paid for my cruise fare, dining, and shore excursions onboard.
I had just completed a Norwegian fjords cruise on Independence of the Seas, so I was excited to compare the experiences.
Silver Dawn: A new ship with enough to keep me busy
A luxury cruise is quite different from a Royal Caribbean cruise, yet it retains the basics of both.
It launched in 2021, which makes it the same as as Odyssey of the Seas. That's effectively still a new ship, and I've always gravitated towards new ships because they offer the latest and greatest features onboard.
The ship boasts have only suites as its cabins, numerous restaurant choices (including the S.A.L.T. program), and the Otium spa and wellness concept.
I chose this ship and itinerary for two reasons: I wanted to be on a newer ship so I could enjoy the best features, and I wanted an itinerary to take advantage of the ship's size.
Silver Dawn has 11 decks (although decks 1 and 2 are not accessible to passengers), and it can accommodate 596 passengers.
Like all Silversea ships, it's all-inclusive, which means much more of the cruise experience is included in your fare. Drinks, most specialty restaurants, basic Wi-Fi, and even some shore excursions are included.
A different way to cruise
There are two aspects of a Silversea cruise that stood out to me from the get go that intrigued me. They are all inclusive and everyone gets a butler.
While the core cruise experience is the same, nearly every nuance of it is different on Silversea and it was an interesting change.
Silversea includes far more in its cruise fare than Royal Caribbean does, although the cruise fare will likely cost more on Silversea.
In speaking with several passengers that had booked the same suite type as me, the cost of this cruise was between $8,000 and $10,000 for two people.
That includes:
- Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
- Food, including all but 2 specialty restaurants
- Butler service in your suite
- Gratuities
- Basic Wi-Fi access
There are no inside cabins here. The most basic of suites has a balcony, bathroom with shower and tub, sofa, dining area, and more.
In addition to the stateroom attendant, the butler will arrange almost anything you can imagine while in your suite.
Your butler can unpack your bags, draw a bath, set up any meal or snack you ask for, bring you drinks, and more.
You share the butler with 13 other suites, but I think I waited more than 35 seconds for my butler to appear after paging him just once.
The downside to the butler is their services work only in your suite. Unlike the Royal Genie service, they aren't available elsewhere.
I asked other cruisers who have sailed with Silversea a lot what's their secret to the butlers, and many said the same thing: to best utilize the butler, you have to basically live out of your suite.
That's fine for some people, but I like to be out and about. Nonetheless, my butler was very helpful when I needed him and more. One day I came back from a long shore excursion and he had drawn a bath for me without me asking. I didn't need it, but it did feel lovely to have it. On another day, there was truffle butter popcorn waiting in my room for a movie night (I just ate the popcorn instead).
The all inclusive nature makes it difficult to compare to Royal Caribbean, especially the Crown and Anchor benefits.
I did a status match before my cruise began with my Pinnacle Club status to Silversea's Venetian Society.
When I did that for Celebrity Cruises, I was impressed how good their top level Captain's Club benefits were. However, since so much is already included with Silversea, the best I had was free laundry. To be clear, I used my free laundry benefit a lot, but don't expect much from your equivalent Venetian Society benefits.
The great thing about pretty much all of the food and drinks being included (and even some shore excursions), is you don't fret over what you want to do.
Just like the convenience of a Royal Caribbean drink package, you're able to take full advantage of what the ship has.
What's it like onboard
Speaking of the ship, the onboard experience was probably the second most asked question after the cost by our readers.
Silver Dawn is quite small compared to any Royal Caribbean ship, but it has a pool, hot tubs, bars, restaurants, jazz lounge, observation lounge, and spa.
What you won't find are kids clubs, water slides, adults-only areas, suite-only areas, and the Royal Caribbean level of live entertainment.
Many readers wanted to know if I was bored, and I can honestly say I wasn't.
There was a production show every night, which is roughly the same quality as any Royal Caribbean production show on a pre-Oasis Class ship.
But I fell in love with the S.A.L.T. Bar onboard.
Silversea's S.A.L.T. (Sea and Land Taste) program is about integrating local food and drink with the cruise experience. In the lab, you can learn to cook local food. In the restaurant, you can dine on local cuisines. In the bar, you can enjoy liquors from the region.
The bar was my go-to spot because they had the best mixologists I've ever had on any cruise. It was a masterclass in cocktails, and they even offered a cocktail making class.
There was a schedule of events each day (printed in a paper newsletter or available on the TV or online), and there was just enough happening to keep you busy. You certainly could attend almost every event in any day.
In terms of dining, there's no question the quality of food offered is better than most restaurants on Royal Caribbean.
The buffet blew me away with always having sushi and sashimi every day at lunch. Atlantide (the Main Dining Room) had filet mignon, lobster, shrimp, and a litany of daily choices to consider.
I tried the S.A.L.T. cooking class, where we made venison and berry tarts.
At Silver Note, I enjoyed a jazz duet while having dinner. And The Grille had hot rocks you could cook on, with filet, lobster, mahi mahi, and more.
And then there's the service onboard. Royal Caribbean has great crew members, but because the ratio of crew to guests is much lower on a luxury ship, the crew are going to know you very well, very quickly.
On a few occasions, they knew my name before I ever said introduced myself or gave them my card. I still don't know how they did it.
And of course, the ship is small and there are no crowds. I never waited for an elevator, always found seats at the pool and bar, and many times had to go out of my way to try to find where there were a group of people.
Fjords, trains, and berries
One of the best reasons to sail on a small luxury ship is where it can go, and I had a packed itinerary.
Our sailing departed Copenhagen, Denmark and visits 5 ports of call in Norway: Vik, Nordfjordeid, Ålesund, Trondheim, and Åndalsnes.
Because of our ship's size, we could fit into ports that big ships cannot, such as Vik.
I booked a variety of excursions, including boat tours and trains that take you all around.
There were two tours that really stood out in Vik and Ålesund.
In Vik, we boarded a classic train on the Flåm Railway that took us through some of the most scenic areas of the trip.
The railway is 20 km long and takes you through spectacular valleys that offer great views of nature and the exceptional engineering skill to have built the railway itself.
Over in Ålesund, I wanted to experience more of the fjords, so I booked a boat tour of nearby Hjørundfjorden.
We hopped right onto a boat to take us on a journey where we saw steep mountains, deep fjords, and small villages around the way.
Our captain even pulled right up to a waterfall and gave us all a cup of water from it.
The beauty of Norway surrounds you on this cruise, and what I really liked being able to turn almost anywhere and find something to see.
Something else that would never happen on Royal Caribbean is the Captain announced after our visit to Vik, he purchased bushels of fresh strawberries from a farmer he knew and there would be fresh strawberries for us to enjoy.
Sure enough, every morning there were fresh strawberries and it was such a treat.
Who is Silversea for?
I spend most of my week thinking who is a Silversea cruise ideally for, and I came up with three groups of people:
- Someone regularly booking an Owners Suite or Grand Suite on Royal Caribbean
- Someone who cruised with their family, but the kids are older and moved out
- Someone who wants to visit places Royal Caribbean ships never/can't go
That's not the limit, but I think people fitting into one of those categories would find the transition the most opportunistic.
You're going to likely pay much more for Silversea than a mainstream line, but you'll get much more included, along with a lot less people to contend with.
I think the Silversea product is designed for people that value service, fine dining, and no crowds. Plus, the places Silversea ships can visit are incredible.
You'll find Silversea ships sailing to Antarctica, Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, The Galapagos, and offering world cruises. The destinations alone might be the most attractive factor.
Kids are welcome onboard, but there aren't dedicated areas for them. I think my teenage girls would like the butler services and the fact they can order filet mignon every night. My oldest would miss the teen club, but I doubt she'd mind having the pool deck virtually to herself.
My first Silversea cruise spoiled me, and I wanted more
My takeaway from a week on Silver Dawn was the level of service and things you can only find on a luxury ship really stood out.
There's no question there's far less happening onboard than on Royal Caribbean, but I leaned into the luxury experience more and more as the sailing went on.
Because of the ratio of crew members to guests, after a couple of days, you're going to feel like Norm from "Cheers" when you walk into any bar, restaurant, or lounge. Everyone knows your name, and probably your order.
I thought having a bath was silly, but I used it a few times as a way to unwind before dinner. I asked once for raspberries from my butler, and then there was a bowl always stocked in my cabin.
When you look at the price of a luxury cruise, there's going to be sticker shock if you're used to booking rooms lower than a suite. But what you get is a different kind of experience that triples down on the service, food, and experiences you can't get on a megaship.
